Chapter 2: Last Light
The maintenance tunnel smelled of hot metal.
Arjun wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove and tightened another mana conduit.
"Pressure?"
"Stable."
"Flow?"
"Ninety-six percent."
He frowned.
"It was ninety-eight ten minutes ago."
His apprentice shrugged.
"The western shield's drawing more power."
Arjun nodded.
"Expected."
He locked the conduit into place before sliding back across the narrow maintenance shaft.
The fortress vibrated.
Not unusual.
Atlas hadn't stopped vibrating in years.
Another engineer climbed down the ladder carrying a crate of replacement runic plates.
"You hear?"
"Hear what?"
"They finally activated Last Light."
Arjun stopped working for a second.
"...You sure?"
The engineer nodded.
"Came from Central Command."
Silence.
Then Arjun picked up his wrench again.
"Pass me the twelve-millimeter socket."
The engineer blinked.
"...That's it?"
"If the shield fails because we're talking instead of working, Leon will come back from the dead just to kill me."
A few nearby engineers laughed.
Then everyone went back to work.
---
Medical Wing Three
"Next."
A medic walked in holding a stack of patient files.
"We're almost out of mana plasma."
Dr. Evelyn didn't look up.
"How much?"
"Enough for maybe three hundred critical patients."
Evelyn signed another form.
"We won't have three hundred critical patients."
The medic looked relieved.
"...Really?"
"We'll have thousands."
Silence.
"Order the synthetics."
"They're weaker."
"I know."
She finally looked up.
"And tell surgery to stop asking for permission."
The medic frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"If they think someone can be saved..."
She signed another form.
"...save them."
---
Hangar Twelve
Ground crews moved between rows of interceptor craft.
Nobody shouted.
Nobody rushed.
Everything had been practiced hundreds of times.
"Core temperature?"
"Normal."
"Weapon seals?"
"Locked."
"Navigation?"
"Green."
Pilot Lieutenant Hana climbed into the cockpit.
The chief engineer handed her a small data chip.
"Latest flight paths."
She inserted it into the console.
"Thanks."
"You owe me coffee."
"If we survive."
"You still owe me."
She smiled.
"Fair."
The canopy closed.
---
Eastern Wall
Private Elias checked his rifle again.
The veteran beside him sighed.
"That's the fourth time."
"It keeps me busy."
"It keeps you nervous."
Elias looked embarrassed.
"I've never seen one this big."
The veteran adjusted his helmet.
"Neither have I."
"...Does that worry you?"
"A little."
The older soldier looked toward the horizon.
"I've learned something over the years."
"What?"
"It shows up."
"It dies."
"This one?"
The veteran shrugged.
"We'll find out."
---
Observation Tower Seven
Captain Mira lowered her enchanted scope.
"Range?"
"Still outside artillery."
"Movement?"
"Constant."
Another scout adjusted his own scope.
"Captain..."
"I see it."
"No..."
He swallowed.
"The left flank."
She focused again.
Her expression changed slightly.
"What?"
"The left flank isn't advancing."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Several seconds passed.
Then she understood.
"They're making room."
"For what?"
She didn't answer.
Instead she activated the communicator.
"Observation Seven to Central."
"Go ahead."
"The enemy is changing formation."
"Estimated reason?"
"...Unknown."
---
Fortress Atlas
Leon walked through the command corridor.
Everyone he passed saluted.
He returned none of them.
Not because he was arrogant.
Because everyone already knew where he was going.
Marcus caught up beside him.
"You know what I hate?"
Leon kept walking.
"The quiet."
"It won't stay quiet."
"I know."
Marcus shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I still hate it."
An officer approached.
"General."
Leon stopped.
"The eastern shield generators are requesting authorization to exceed safe output."
"How long will they last?"
"Maybe four hours."
"And at normal output?"
"Two."
Leon nodded.
"Approve it."
"Understood."
The officer hurried away.
Marcus watched him leave.
"You know..."
"What?"
"I don't think anyone's slept this week."
Leon looked at him.
"I got four hours."
Marcus stared.
"When?"
Leon thought for a moment.
"...Last Tuesday."
Marcus laughed.
"You're impossible."
---
A low horn echoed across Fortress Atlas.
Not loud.
Just deep enough that everyone stopped what they were doing.
Engineers climbed out of maintenance shafts.
Doctors stepped away from operating tables.
Pilots looked toward the runway.
Soldiers stood from ammunition crates.
The horn sounded again.
The enemy had entered artillery range.
---
The first shell crossed the sky at 09:17.
Nobody cheered.
Nobody celebrated.
They simply watched.
Five seconds later, the horizon disappeared beneath fire.
Another battery fired.
Then another.
Then another.
The fortress shook continuously now.
The war had begun again.
For some, it was the first battle of their lives.
For others, it was the last battle of forty-two years.
Leon watched the distant explosions through the command window.
"Report."
"Initial bombardment effective."
"Casualties?"
"Unknown."
He nodded once.
"Continue."
Outside, Fortress Atlas kept working.
The engineers repaired.
The medics prepared.
The pilots launched.
The soldiers waited.
No speeches.
No panic.
Just millions of people doing the jobs they'd trained to do for most of their lives.
Because forty-two years of war had taught humanity one lesson above all else.
When the sirens stopped...
There was still work to do.